Tag: iba2009

The short lists for the Irish Blog Awards have been announced thanks to the trojan work being put in by the judging group for 2009. On average each blog shortlisted was scored by seven judges. Having seen KilkennyMusic.com and my own blog here drop off at the long list stage (i.e. not shortlisted), I’ll be delighted to “fly the flag” for Kilkenny as The Devious Theatre Company have been shortlisted in the Best Arts and Culture category.

As in previous years, each individual shortlist has turned up some gems. There’s some regular appearances by certain blogs in their respective categories again joined by several new faces, a great indication of growth in blogging in Ireland and the quality of output of those blogs.

I’ll be in attendance at the Awards myself on Saturday night and I’m staying over in the hotel so there’s

They know what a blog is. They’ve read blogs as references. They might have even given thought to starting a blog at some stage, if they had time to do it. They know that podcasts exist. They know the power of the web.

They don’t blog. They’ve not really heard of, seen or used Twitter. Online video is another world away, but there is a realisation that it works.

They’re not on Facebook. They’re not on MySpace.

It’s their first time going to the Irish Blog Awards or any award ceremony that recognises those working with blogs or the wider world of the internet in Ireland.

I’ve spoken to people at the Irish Blog Awards over the last two years who were in the same situation. Some of them have gone madaltogether.

Guilty as charged, I’ve yet to make my own but they’ll be in for this evening. The night recognises the talents and voices of the Irish blogging community across all genres. In the past I’ve been lucky enough to see nominations for some of my blogs in Best Technology, Best Music and have nominations in one or two other categories as well.

But it’s not just about technology or music, there’s the arts, business, pop culture, photography and a whole lot more.

The awards themselves are changing location this year. After three years in Dublin (having made the road trip the last two years) I’ll find myself driving to Cork and this great venue for the awards. Having experience two years at the Blog Awards and a fantastic night at the Irish Web Awards in October, the real fun of the night isn’t competely in the awards ceremony itself but in the craic before and afterwards (and all through the night).

In saying that, I’ve booked into the hotel already so there’ll be no looking for Burger King at 2am.

I’m looking forward to the night, catching up with those I’ve not seen or spoken to in a while and hopefully get the chance to match even more faces to names from the web. Hit the awards as often as you like, when there’s a few hundred people in the room it can be tricky to talk to everyone you want to!